I currently have some old 1st gen LIFX bulbs that need to be replaced. I’m trying to decide whether to replace them with new LIFX bulbs, or if I should jump ship and switch over to Hue. I’m looking for some insight on whether the integration with hubitat is better with the Hue system and any other general overall thoughts. Either way I would have a huge number of bulbs. A couple in the master bedroom as nightstand lights, and possibly one or two more in other rooms. The majority of my lights already have z-wave switches or zigbee plugs.
While not exactly an answer to the question you posed, I thought additional options are always worthwhile to share...
I am personally finding that I like Sengled zigbee bulbs. Their new Sengled Element Color Plus bulbs work very well with the built-in 'Generic Zigbee RGBW Light' Hubitat driver. The fact that they are Zigbee means that no intermediary Hub/Bridge is required, and they respond almost instantly. I have never had a LIFX or Hue bulb, so I cannot compare the quality/brightness of the Sengled color output vs those products.
FYI - unlike LIFX and Hue, you will not be able to control these Sengled bulbs with their native applications once they are paired to Hubitat. The Sengled app requires the bulbs to be paired with the Sengled hub/bridge device. I bought the 2-bulb starter kit with the Sengled hub as I figured I could use it to update the firmware on the bulbs if necessary. So far, the Sengled hub is still sitting in the original box. 
I use Lutron Pico remotes to essentially select a scene, using the ABC App to select specific colors based on what button is pressed.
The Sengled Element Color Plus bulbs are usually available at Amazon for $30 each. It appears that the Prime Day Sale, where they are 20% off, has caused a slight shortage. You can buy a pair of them with the Sengled Hub, for $80. However, you will not use the Hub after you pair the bulbs with Hubitat directly.
Just checked Amazon and noticed that the 2-Bulb Starter Kit with Sengled hub is available for 20% off for Prime members still. That means your prive would be $80 - 20% ($16) = $64, or $32 per bulb. Not a bad deal since you get the Sengled hub for future bulb firmware upgrades, if needed.
If you don't like the bulbs, Amazon's return policy is pretty amazing.
Thanks for the suggestion. I will definitely check it out.
I own both Hue and Lifx Bulbs and like them both for different reasons....but for the Hubitat system, I would go with Hue since it is natively supported. I have ported the Lifx driver and it works perfectly for my needs but I only use these bulbs in one area of my house because they get very bright in comparison to the Hue.
In my opinion Lifx is only better if they are in a location that needs the extra lumens.
Otherwise Hue is cheaper per bulb (especially with the frequent deals), has better color reproduction (Lifx tends to get washed out at the higher brightness settings) and does not put put an extra load on my wifi router (Lifx needs to maintain a wifi connection per bulb).
1 Like
Thanks for the insight. One of my biggest frustrations with my current LIFX bulbs is they will occasionally get reset of disappear from the network. They have been incredibly difficult to repair when that happens. I think part of the issue is my WiFi setup (eero mesh network), but reps from both eero and LIFX swear the two systems are compatible with each other.
As a disclaimer I don't own any LIFX bulbs, only hue. That said, having Hubitat linked with hue is an awesome combination. I have all of my hue bulbs, as well as a number of non hue bulbs, joined to my hue bridge. I can control them not only individually through Hubitat but also through hue groups. The advantage to that is if you have an action with a large number of devices I find it is easier to send one command to the hue bridge and let it process it rather than have Hubitat send multiple commands; I work my Hubitat hard enough as it is. 
I also find that I have enough of a load on my WIFI network and adding a large number of devices would just compound that problem. As an added bonus, hue is also releasing a number of new products which you could now add to your system.
3 Likes
I have both Lifx and Hue. 8 liftx + and around 15 Hue. I am using @stephack driver for Lifx and direct connect half my Hue to Hubitat.
I have zero issue with Lifx bulbs and love the Lifx apps. I have Ubiquiti Unifi for wifi which I also like and most likely why they don't drop off
Problem with direct Hue connection to Hubitat or ST is that once in a while. I will completely lost connection to the bulbs and only way is to reset the bulb and rediscover. No big deal since I have the lutron remote but still a pain.
I use eero as well. When I have a power outage the bulbs sometimes connect to the eero in my office because it's the gateway and first to fire up. It is also the node furthest from my lifx bulbs and they can lose connectivity as such. When this happens I unplug the lamps the bulbs are in for 2 to 3 minutes and turn them back on. They usually connect to the right node and work perfectly after that. At least that's my experience.
The biggest problem I’ve had was when I’ve had to go through the process of initially pairing the bulb to the network. My eero network never shows up on the list of WiFi networks, and manually typing the info in gives me an error 9 out of 10 times. Every time I just have to keep trying over and over again until it works.
Sounds to me like the decision is clear 
Hue vs Lifx - Hue wins ..especially in your setup.
2 Likes
This topic was automatically closed 365 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.
